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The star has handed over the entirety of his £25,000 award cash to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to preserve the Britain's small concert spaces.

He was presented with the prize on October 16 as his third album People Watching was declared the best record of the previous year.

Fender has opted to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the vital role small stages played in his early career.

"As an artist would not have achieved what I am doing today if it weren't for all the performances I did around the North East, and further afield, when I was just getting going," remarked the artist. "These locations are legendary, but they are facing challenges."

Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these locations have ceased operations – roughly 16% of the total UK scene.

Recently, top acts like Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the MVT in its efforts to support the industry, by including a modest fee to their ticket costs, which supports smaller concert halls.

Fender also participated, collecting more than £100,000 on his recent tour to support 38 local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.

These funds assisted venues that were facing imminent closure due to issues stemming from flooding, fires and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, court cases and sound issues.

Other venues were granted monetary aid in upgrading amenities and gear that helped performers and concertgoers.

"The notion that revenue from performances in major spaces backs the smaller venues, where it begins for artists like me, is just logical," Fender has stated.

The musician is among several artists to contribute his award funds to charitable organizations.

Back when the band won the award in the year 1996 for their release their work, lead singer Jarvis Cocker declared that the group would donate their prize money to the non-profit War Child.

That year, artist she divided her bounty among several good causes, including the children's charity and a Sickle Cell charity.

"I also donated a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they needed new equipment," Ms Dynamite told outlets.

Previously, Ezra Collective gave their prize money to the youth organization that supported their group, in addition to other independent music bodies.

Also the 1994 recipients M People contributed their winnings to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was found to have the disease.

"Winning was ample," said artist Heather Small. "The prize was the extra but we didn't need the extra, because we had the main prize. So our success impacted somebody else's life."

Last week, the MVT announced it had rescued two grassroots venues in that region, by transferring them to community ownership.

The first in Southampton and the second in Bristol were bought under the public acquisition initiative, which is backed by a national body and music fans who acquire "stakes" in the properties.